RAVENS’ WIN WORTHY OF GOLD MEDAL

Olympian Phelps sees hometown team head to Super Bowl XLVII

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. 
Who was the happiest person in the Ravens’ postgame locker room?

Maybe the 6-foot-4 man who tried to blend in with reporters when the doors opened. Maybe the bearded guy wearing purple socks and gray shoes with purple shoelaces, which matched a purple and white plaid shirt beneath a Ravens cap.

Outside the shower room, he hugged toweled players who knew him by name.

He chatted up linebacker Ray Lewis, who nearly tackled him when he saw him.

“It’s the best thing ever,” Michael Phelps said. “This is the coolest thing in the world for me.”

The 22-time Olympic medalist swimmer is a Maryland native and self-described “die-hard” Ravens fan. He was grinning after Sunday’s 28-13 AFC Championship Game win over the Patriots like he just beat the French.

Phelps seems to have the life.

He says he has been traveling the world and playing a lot of golf since retiring. Now, add a trip to New Orleans for the Super Bowl.

“Obviously,” Phelps said, “I’m not missing that.”

Welker, Gregory

It was a tough night for a pair of ex-Chargers.

On third-and-2 during the Patriots’ opening drive, wide receiver Wes Welker ran a deep post route but dropped the pass. In the third quarter, he dropped a short throw on third-and-8 in which he had plenty of open space to run.

The Patriots punted, and the Ravens took over.

Then, safety Steve Gregory had a rough series.

He was among the Patriots defenders to miss a tackle on running back Ray Rice, who is known to make men miss in the open field, on a 15-yard catch. Later in the drive, tight end Dennis Pitta cut right in the end zone to gain separation from Gregory and catch a 5-yard touchdown pass.

It gave Baltimore a 14-13 lead it wouldn’t relinquish.

“After a loss like this, it is hard,” said Gregory, who spent six NFL seasons in San Diego before leaving via free agency. “This is just about as low as you can feel.”

Etc.

O.J. Brigance, Ravens director of player development, has been battling ALS since 2007. He transposed a message to the team through his computer and delivered it during the postgame ceremony. “Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens,” Brigance wrote. “Your resiliency has outlasted your adversity. You are the AFC champions. You are my mighty men. With God, all things are possible.”

• The Ravens ended the regular season with four losses in five games. The No. 4 AFC seed then won three straight to appear in the Super Bowl on Feb. 3.